


Two Pair

by aniwam (animorbid)



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Gambling, Guns, M/M, Millenium Items, Original Characters - Freeform, Rivals to Lovers, Season 0, Shadow Games, mild violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:27:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24266647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animorbid/pseuds/aniwam
Summary: Dakarai didn't expect his family relic to start taking over his life, but the deal he made with the spirit trapped inside locked him into a chain of suspicious incidents. He also didn't expect to get his project partner, Kurt, wrapped up in it, too.
Kudos: 3





	Two Pair

**Author's Note:**

> we've had these characters since high school! oh how they've changed over the years. wam hopes you like the shadow games she'll be making over the course of the series. she's working really hard on them!
> 
> Dakarai and Atsu are written by wamulet  
> Kurt and Riaz are written by animorbid

As a general elective, the college’s Egyptology course was among the smaller ones - there were about twenty students registered, only half of which regularly came to class. The instructor never minded nor cared, never taking a moment to take attendance before diving into an hour and a half of lecture time. Things were always regular in the course: which students came in on what days, how often they participated, and how long they lasted before zoning out. It made it all the more easier to realize when something was amiss.

Dakarai was one of the more active students of the class. He always seemed genuinely interested in Egyptian history, and asked a lot of questions about the subject. Although the class took place early in the morning, he attended each lecture without fail. Today, too, he came in and immediately took his usual seat in the second row. He looked mostly the same as usual - sporting a black t-shirt and faded jeans, his spiky dark brown hair in a haphazardly brushed state. But, his usually bright eyes were dead and tired, and he sat slumped in his seat - as he had been just the past few weeks.

One of the other students that came regularly walked in and took his usual place, a few seats away from Dakarai at the end of the row. Dakarai knew his name was Kurt, but he didn’t know much about him. Kurt never spoke up in class. In fact, Dakarai didn’t know if he had ever heard Kurt speak at all. He just quietly took notes on the lecture before leaving at the end without a word. There was absolutely no reason for Dakarai to even think about him… especially with everything else that was already on his mind.

The news this morning discussed a string of recent and strange incidents. There were no obvious connections between them except that the victims suddenly suffered mental breakdowns out of the blue. Still, Dakarai was on edge, only thinking about how everything would eventually come to light. He was so deep in his worry, he hadn't realized the lecture had started until ten minutes in.

He was mostly zoned out until he noticed the lecturer end the note presentation half an hour early. “Alright, everyone that’s ignoring me, you might want to listen now. We’re doing a project, and you’ll each have a partner.”

Dakarai sat up in his seat as she began to discuss the project. He frowned inwardly as she mentioned it would involve a ten minute presentation, and wondered if he could convince his partner to just let him make it on his own. With how few people really seemed to care about the class, it seemed likely.

The instructor began to call out pairs. She called a few, before getting to Dakarai. “Dakarai, you’re with Kurt,” she said, pointing to him with her pen.

Kurt perked up, before looking over at Dakarai. His expression was hard to read. Dakarai returned the look for a moment, before looking back to the front and lamenting his luck. The instructor explained the details of their assignment to the class, before allowing the partners to get together and start discussing their topics.

With an inward sigh, Dakarai reluctantly got up to take the seat next to Kurt. Kurt gave Dakarai a small, quiet smile. He was smaller than Dakarai, with long burgundy hair tied up into a ponytail. His bangs framed his face, almost covering his brown eyes.

Dakarai got the impression he would disappoint Kurt if he brought up doing the project alone, but was still tempted to.

"So," he began, "Topic ideas… had any in mind?"

Kurt tapped his finger against his lips, before searching through his notebook for a moment. He sighed, before shaking his head and looking back over to Dakarai. “No.”

Dakarai gave Kurt an odd look, before shrugging it off and looking down at his own notes. "We could cover one of the Egyptian gods that haven't come up in class, maybe," he offered. Kurt nodded in reply, starting to look through his notes again.

Dakarai was a bit annoyed at the lack of response, but not enough to be rude about it. Instead, he pulled out his phone and quickly searched for obscure Egyptian gods. "How about Am-heh," he threw out, watching Kurt's expression carefully.

Kurt thought for a moment, before replying quietly, “I don't know that one…”

Dakarai almost had to strain to hear him, but shy was better than rude. He held his phone out to Kurt. "Here." Kurt took his phone and read the page quietly, before handing it back with a nod. “Sure.”

"Great… Um, are you going to be able to present at all?"

Kurt nodded quietly again. “Mhmm.”

Dakarai wasn't entirely convinced, but was too tired to press further into it. He paused briefly to rub his eyes, then said, "I think if we just do some note-taking in our off time, we'll only have to meet once for an hour or two to put everything together. That fine?"

Kurt frowned, looking off to the side, before nodding. “Sure.”

Before he might change his mind, Dakarai quickly divided the presentation into sections and split them between him and Kurt. In the last few minutes of class, Dakarai asked Kurt for his number so they could plan where to meet. "I'm usually free," he said, "But… just in case plans suddenly change."

Kurt wrote his phone number down on a piece of paper and folded it up, before holding it out toward Dakarai. “Um…”

Dakarai took the piece of paper before giving Kurt a questioning glance. "What?"

“I was hoping… we could work together a bit more,” Kurt said. “...Study together.”

Dakarai bit his lip - he was really hoping to avoid the question. When push came to shove, he was always too much of a pushover to say no to things. It was the entire reason for his problems lately. He heard a recently familiar sigh in the back of his mind as he replied. "Uh… when were you thinking of studying?"

“Anytime you’re free,” Kurt replied, looking down at his hands.

"Okay, uh…" Dakarai mentally flitted through his schedule, then said, "I'm free Friday, but only until… 6."

“That works,” Kurt said with a small smile. “Do you want to study at your place or mine?”

"Do you live on campus?" Dakarai asked. Kurt nodded in response. "Yours is probably better, then…"

Kurt pulled out his phone and opened his calendar. “Time?”

Dakarai scratched his cheek. "3? That's when my last class ends, anyway." Kurt nodded, before entering the time and day into his calendar. As he did, the classroom began to fill with the sounds of chairs being pushed out and bags being packed. Dakarai grabbed his own stuff to do the same. "So, uh, see you Friday then?"

Kurt looked up at him, before giving a smile and nodding. “Yeah.”

"Alright… bye," he finished with a quick nod.

As soon as Dakarai left the classroom, he felt pain and a sudden tightness around one of his fingers. Inwardly cursing, he hurried out of the classroom building to find a secluded place to put his thoughts together. As he maneuvered through the crowd of students looking for their next class, he felt a surge of annoyance, only half of which was his own.

Dakarai found himself behind the college building. "Okay Atsu," he grumbled quietly, "You can yell at me all you want now."

He heard a voice that wasn't his own respond. Unlike the voice of his own thoughts, it was clear and dark and had intentions separate from Dakarai's. For a while, Dakarai thought college was making him mental, but the voice was adamant he was real. And it called itself Atsu.

He started hearing the voice sometime after his father gifted him with a family relic for his last birthday: a ring made of gold bearing the eye of Horus. Dakarai remembered seeing it growing up, kept in a display case by itself. If he lived in his own place, he might’ve continued the tradition, but he hadn’t been entirely sure how trustworthy his roommate was. So, he made it a habit to wear the ring instead. For a while, nothing really came from it except some compliments on his new accessory.

Dakarai, however, had gotten himself into some trouble one day. He had pissed off the wrong guys, and they cornered him with the intention of robbing him and leaving him to die in some alley. But it never happened -- he blacked out first. It was much later that he learned Atsu had taken over his body and had taken care of the thugs himself.

Atsu, apparently, was a spirit who inhabited the ring. And, having been awoken by Dakarai, he wasn’t very keen on going back to being a normal, non magical accessory. Dakarai, while grateful for his help, didn’t want to be Atsu’s meat puppet either. So, they worked out a deal.

Speaking of... 

' _ I've done perfectly well keeping to our deal _ ,' Atsu hissed. Another quick surge of pain went up Dakarai's arm. ' _ Staying quiet while you're getting your education, and keeping your body perfectly safe. All you have to do is keep being a recluse and let me borrow your evenings.’ _

Dakarai crossed his arms, looking down at the time. His next lecture started soon, so he just had to bear this for another ten minutes. ' _ That's why I said until 6. Don't worry, this is probably a one-off thing, _ ' he thought back, so no one who happened to come by would think he was crazy.

As Atsu continued to grumble about Dakarai's weakness to pressure, Dakarai wondered why Kurt suddenly decided to invite him to study in the first place.

  
  
  
  


Kurt carried a stack of books from the library in his arms, making them ache. He didn’t have much further to go to get home, but the walk felt like it would never end. It didn’t help that walking home alone at night made him a bit nervous. The streets weren’t empty, but this side of the college town didn’t see too much foot traffic either. So he was especially on alert when he heard nearby sounds of a scuffle.

He was passing by an alleyway when it happened. He glanced cautiously at the obscure area as he walked by, but was still caught off guard when a man rushed out of the shadows and bumped into him. With the books in his arms, Kurt easily stumbled. The man who “rushed” him didn’t fare much better, numerous items spilling out from a bag he had been clutching. They both scrambled to pick up their things, and within moments the man was gone. 

Kurt picked up the rest of his books, breathing heavily. After taking a few seconds to gather himself, he noticed something lying on the ground a few feet away. Its golden surface gleamed in the glow of the street lights. Kurt walked over and picked it up, eyeing it curiously.

It was a hand mirror. The surface of the glass gave away its old age, but the gold of the back and the handle were clean and pristine. Kurt turned it over, and on the back was what Kurt recognized as the eye of Anubis. The handle fit perfectly in Kurt’s hand.

He looked up toward where the man had run off. He was long gone by now. He looked down at the mirror for a long moment, turning it over and over again in his hand. He felt… almost drawn to it. Finally, he decided to tuck the mirror into his backpack.

  
  
  
  
  


Dakarai double-checked the dorm number listed in the text message before knocking. He and Kurt had been just as chatty over text as they had been in class - which is to say, in scarce bits and pieces. After spending a long night outside of his body, Dakarai was incredibly exhausted. But, he still didn’t have the resolve to call out of the study session last minute. It technically counted as school work, anyway, so it was another few hours he didn’t have to deal with Atsu.

Kurt answered the door with a shy smile, before stepping aside to let Dakarai in. The room was rather tidy, with a bit of clutter here and there. He had the room to himself, so he had a bed and a desk on opposite sides of the room. There was a bean bag next to the desk, and a closet next to the bed. The window above the bed let in fresh air. “Your room is pretty nice,” Dakarai commented. He looked around for a place he was allowed to sit, slowly dropping his backpack off of his shoulders.

“Thanks,” Kurt replied. He gestured toward the bean bag. “You can sit here, unless you want the desk chair.”

The bean bag looked comfortable, but Dakarai was afraid he’d end up falling asleep in it. “I think I’d prefer the desk chair,” he answered, putting his bag down by the desk. Kurt nodded, taking a moment to grab his laptop from the desk before getting himself comfortable on the bean bag.

Dakarai took his claimed seat and pulled his own things out: his laptop, and a few sheets of notes he had taken the other day after class. “Um, so how much have you done so far?”

Kurt opened up his laptop. “One second, I’ll show you.”

As Kurt booted his computer up, Dakarai idly looked around the other’s workspace. As his eyes wandered, he noticed a glint of something from just behind his laptop. Vaguely curious, he lowered the lid of his laptop to see what it was. Just sitting on top of a pile of papers was a polished, gold hand mirror.

Kurt turned his laptop to show Dakarai the screen. “I took a few pages of notes here.”

Dakarai, who had been staring intently at the object, quickly snapped out of his daze. “Oh, nice,” he muttered, peering at the screen. As he began scanning the lines, he could feel the other presence in his mind suddenly become more alert. Per their deal, though, Atsu couldn’t speak up about whatever was decidedly bothering him. Dakarai tried to ignore the feeling, determined to focus on only a single aspect of his life at a time.

Thirty minutes in, though, Atsu’s not-talking was beginning to get to him - and, Dakarai had an idea what had caught his interest. Anytime Dakarai had so much as glanced at the shiny mirror from the corner of his eye, he got all the more ‘louder’ in his mind. “Hey, Kurt,” he spoke up, rubbing his aching temple. “Is that mirror made from real gold?”

Kurt looked up from his laptop. “Hm? Oh, I don't know. I think so.”

Dakarai was actually surprised to hear that. He wasn’t expecting that was the case, since that would make it the only gaudy thing Kurt kept around in his room. He folded his hands into his lap, absently touching the gold band on his finger. “You don’t know? Was it a gift?”

Kurt looked back down at his laptop, pretending to make himself busy. “I, uh… found it.”

“Like… at a pawn shop?” Dakarai probed further.

“...Yes.”

“Oh. That’s a little surprising,” Dakarai noted, looking back at the mirror. “You don’t seem like the type to go browsing pawn shops. Was it expensive?”

Kurt scratched lightly at his cheek. “Uh… a little.”

Dakarai chuckled, hiding his disbelief. “You must be really into personal hair care.”

“...Yeah,” Kurt said with a small, half-hearted chuckle of his own as he absently fidgeted with the ends of his hair.

Dakarai figured he wouldn’t get much out of Kurt if he kept asking, so he returned his attention to the project. If the mirror ended up being related to Atsu, he could deal with that later. They continued working on the presentation, sharing the sum of their notes and doing some additional research. As long as it was about their project, Dakarai could get Kurt to talk a little more - he started to wonder if Kurt was really shy, or just weird.

When six p.m came around, Dakarai reluctantly began to pack up his things again. Kurt closed his laptop and set it on the desk, before seeming to hesitate for a moment. Curious, Dakarai asked, “Something wrong?”

Kurt shook his head, before taking in a quiet breath. “...I can walk you home.”

Dakarai’s brows rose. “Really? It’s close to campus, but it’s still a long walk. You sure?”

Kurt gave a small smile. “Halfway.”

Dakarai smiled back, and half-heartedly shrugged. “Alright, thanks. I appreciate the company.” Kurt nodded, before grabbing his bag. He placed it on the desk and opened it up to make sure he had his keys, pausing for a moment to slip the mirror into his bag as well. Dakarai found that a little odd, but didn’t comment on it. He simply waited by the door, opening it for the both of them once Kurt had everything he needed together.

They walked together down to the front doors of the building and went outside. Kurt looked over at Dakarai, before gesturing for him to lead the way. Dakarai did so, and after a few moments of brief silence between them, Atsu finally spoke.

' _ Dakarai, _ ' Atsu started, in a voice that was long-suffering. ' _ You need to get the Mirror away from your friend.' _

Dakarai glanced over at Kurt, smiling awkwardly at him when their eyes met. ' _ Now's not a good time for this, Atsu. Can this wait for a bit?' _

_ 'It absolutely cannot!'  _ Atsu protested _. 'The Mirror is a relic of ancient power! It can do great evil in the wrong hands!' _

Dakarai looked away from Kurt and rolled his eyes.  _ 'I don't think Kurt is secretly evil. He probably just thinks it's neat.' _

Kurt let his gaze linger on Dakarai for a moment, before he looked away quickly. He fidgeted with the ends of his hair, unsure. When Dakarai turned his attention back to Kurt, he figured he was in thought about something.

‘ _ We’ll talk about this later,’ _ Dakarai promised to placate Atsu. To Kurt, he asked aloud, “Something on your mind?” Kurt stiffened, looking back at Dakarai with wide eyes and shaking his head. ‘ _ Yeah, definitely not evil _ ,” Dakarai reaffirmed, looking back ahead at the street. Something ahead caught his attention, and he abruptly stopped and grabbed Kurt’s arm. “Wait,” he muttered, directing Kurt’s attention to the empty street corner just ahead.

There was a lone man standing just several feet away - the only other person either of them could see in view. That in itself wasn’t odd, but he was just standing in the middle of the street, facing both of them.

Kurt immediately started stepping backward, grabbing Dakarai’s wrist to make him follow. Dakarai followed his lead, looking around with vain hope that they weren’t actually the only ones around. As they started to step back, the man began walking towards them - and Dakarai didn’t see any other passerbys in sight. Kurt tugged on Dakarai’s wrist, starting to turn and run in the other direction. ”Kurt!” Dakarai stammered, almost stumbling from the sudden pull. “What’s going on?!” Kurt looked back at the man, panic setting in. He tugged on Dakarai’s arm again.

Dakarai went to follow Kurt, but suddenly froze in place when pain shot up his arm from the ring. “Wait,” he protested in a strained voice, before feeling his consciousness get shoved out of his body. In one moment, he was looking at Kurt’s frantic expression. Then it all faded to black, and in the next moment he was watching the scene from an outsider’s perspective.

Atsu, in his body, shrugged off Kurt’s hold and turned to face the strange man. He grinned with narrowed eyes. “Now now, let’s see where this is going to go.” Kurt looked up at Dakarai, looking even more panicked now that Dakarai was approaching the man.

He shook his head vigorously, clutching the strap of his backpack tightly. “W-wait!”

When Atsu stepped forward enough, the man stopped. His expression was one of concealed anger, hidden behind a sharp smirk and wild eyes. Even from outside of his body, Dakarai could tell the man was looking past Atsu at Kurt, despite the former being closest to him. Closer now, Kurt could see this was the same man he had accidentally bumped into a few nights ago.

“Hello, stranger,” Atsu spoke, assessing the man with an up-and-down look. “What’s your business with my friend here, hm?”

“He’s got something I want,” the man said back with a gruff voice, pointing at Kurt. “I just want it back.”

Atsu’s grin grew. “Funny that. He also has something  _ I _ want. I wonder if it’s the same item.” He looked over his shoulder at Kurt, tilting his head slightly. “Well, friend, why don’t you show him what you think it is?” Kurt’s eyes widened, before he turned his body, further shielding his backpack. “Playing shy? Well, fine, I doubt I’m wrong anyway.”

‘ _ Atsu! _ ’ Dakarai hissed. ‘ _ You promised you wouldn’t take over without my permission!’ _

_ ‘Except when you’re in danger,’ _ Atsu reminded, facing the man again. ‘ _ And this is definitely about to get dangerous _ .’

“It seems like you really want that item back,” Atsu said thoughtfully. “How about we make a deal, then?”

The man chuckled, low and rough. “What kind of deal?”

“It’s simple. All you have to do is beat me at a game. A  _ Shadow Game _ ,” Atsu replied. “The winner gets the mirror… and the loser gets a penalty game.”

“Huh.” The man smirked. “What are the rules?”

“You look like a gambling man,” Atsu said, momentarily bypassing the question. As he spoke, the shadows on the streets seemed to grow, and the area became more and more obscured. “Are you familiar with roulette?”

The man scoffed, looking around without moving. “Maybe.”

Atsu looked to the side, where the road used to be visible. The whole area was now a dark and shadowy nothing, except for a massive table of red and black numbers - a roulette layout. “It’s really quite easy,” Atsu said, chuckling lowly. “All you have to do is correctly bet what number the mirror will land in.”

Kurt and the man both stared at the roulette wheel with wide eyes, before Kurt searched in his bag. The mirror was still inside. He let out a breath, before looking back toward Atsu.

“How many tries do I get?” the man asked.

“Oh, don’t worry. We’ll both be making bets - I’ll let you pick first, of course,” Atsu replied. He then directed his gaze to Kurt, smiling at him knowingly. “Of course, we can’t play without our prize. Why don’t we fix that, hm?” He snapped his fingers, summoning shadows from the ground. They surrounded Kurt in an instant, swallowing him into the black - before he could even process it, he was thrown out onto the giant roulette table.

‘ _ Atsu! Why are you bringing Kurt into this?’ _ Dakarai questioned, making Atsu scoff aloud. ‘ _ This is too much! You need to stop,  _ now. _ ’ _

‘ _It’s his own fault for not giving me the Mirror_ _in the first place_ ,’ Atsu shot back.

Kurt looked around himself, before looking toward Atsu with wide eyes. “Dakarai, what is this?” he asked in a strained voice.

“Now now, friend, don’t worry. Things will all be over soon,” Atsu replied with false concern. To the man, he said, “So… what’s your first bet?”

The man looked at the roulette wheel. “Twenty-seven.”

“Good choice. Then I’ll bet on eight.” Both Atsu and the man were absorbed by the shadows. In the same way Kurt was transported, they each reappeared standing on top of their respective numbers. “Now, let’s spin the roulette, shall we?” Atsu chuckled darkly, snapping his fingers again.

The giant roulette table under Kurt began to tremble. The motion at first was slow, but it quickly picked up over the next few seconds. Then, the whole table was spinning rapidly underneath Kurt’s feet, making him lose his balance and tumble. Kurt held tightly onto his bag, hugging it to his chest as he fell. He was sent rolling around the table until it eventually slowed and stopped. When the momentum finally ran out, he was laying on top of the number thirty, just one space away from twenty-seven.

“That was a close deal,” Atsu noted. “Looks like we’ll have to bet again.”

The man huffed, clenching his fists. “Eighteen!”

“I’ll keep my bet on eight,” Atsu decided. The man moved places on the layout, and the roulette rapidly began spinning again. Kurt curled himself into a ball around his bag, bracing himself as he tumbled. Dakarai winced in sympathy, just hoping things wouldn’t end badly.

When the roulette table finally stopped again, Kurt ended up a few spaces between both of their numbers, on the red one. Atsu sighed, looking at the man. “Well, I have a feeling we’ll be at this for a while. How about we make things easier?”

The man looked toward Atsu questioningly. “What do you mean?”

“Whichever numbers we guess will be taken off the table if neither bet wins,” Atsu proposed. “That should shorten things… how about it?”

“Sure thing,” the man said, gesturing with a wave.

Atsu gave the roulette table a narrow look, his crimson eyes flashing with a momentary glow. Everyone sans Atsu looked on in confusion when nothing seemingly happened, until the first number tile called suddenly fell from the table itself. It left a gap where it used to be, and as it fell into the shadows, the other four number tiles began to shake - including the one Kurt was on. Kurt panicked for a moment, before scrambling up to his feet and jumping back up onto the center piece of the wheel.

“Try not to fall off the wheel!” Atsu called out with a dark laugh. “Now… let’s bet again.”

The man looked between Atsu and the wheel. “...Eight.”

Atsu narrowed his eyes, looking at the wheel again himself. He could see that, once the table started spinning, Kurt would likely fall into the gap the eight was in. Mentally, he cursed his luck - he didn’t think the man was smart enough to notice. As he considered his play, Dakarai spoke to him. ‘ _ Bet on twenty-three,’ _ he said, indicating the number just before the gap. ‘ _ Kurt won’t fall off the table.’ _

‘ _ Of course he’ll fall,’ _ Atsu grumbled back.  _ ‘That was the point of the spin - to keep him from hanging on to any one place _ .’

‘ _ Don’t forget this game was your idea _ ,’ Dakarai shot back. ‘ _ My advice is the only one you’ll get. _ ’

After hesitating for a moment longer, Atsu sighed and spoke up. “Twenty-three. Let’s spin again.”

When the momentum of the table picked up, Kurt wasn’t able to keep hanging on to the center. He tucked himself around his bag again, bracing himself for a fall. Despite insisting on the bet, Dakarai couldn’t make himself watch as Kurt began to tumble towards the gap. Suddenly, the top of Kurt’s bag opened up, and the mirror started to slip out. Kurt scrambled to grab it, and as soon as the handle was gripped in his hand, a bright light flashed around him.

_ ‘Don’t worry _ ,’ a voice said, clear as day in Kurt’s mind. It was smooth and soothing.  _ ‘I’ll take it from here.’ _

Kurt’s consciousness took a back seat, and another mind took hold of his body. He stopped himself from tumbling off the side of the roulette table, hanging onto the edge by one hand while the other held the mirror. After pulling himself back up, he gave a heavy sigh. “Whew… That was close.”

Despite the fact that Kurt was standing on top of the twenty-three tile, Atsu’s expression wasn’t one of victory. He was grimacing, prompting Dakarai to question, ‘ _ Atsu? What’s wrong with you? I know it was my suggestion, but the bet still won. Shouldn’t you be happy? _ ’

_ ‘This is exactly what I  _ didn’t _ want to happen!’ _ Atsu only hissed back, before shutting himself away from Dakarai’s questioning. “Well,” he said instead, looking at the man. “Looks like your bet didn’t play out for you… it looks like you’ll be playing the Penalty Game.”

The other Kurt straightened up, looking between Atsu and the man. “A Penalty Game?” His eyes then landed on Atsu. “Is-... Is that you, Atsu?”

Atsu crossed his arms, glaring at the other Kurt. “It’s been a long time… Riaz.”

Riaz tightened his grip on the mirror’s handle. “You’re doing penalty games, huh? Playing shadow games?”

“The deal has already been made,” Atsu retorted, snapping his fingers. The roulette table and layout disappeared, leaving just the three of them standing in the dark realm. “There’s nothing you can do about it.”

“That’s what you think,” Riaz said back, before holding the mirror up to the man. “We’ll see if this man  _ really _ deserves a penalty game.”

The man reeled back with wide eyes, before looking into the mirror when images from his life started to appear. Suddenly, he disappeared.

Atsu cursed, turning to Riaz as the shadows around them began to recede. “You and your damn meddling, as always! After centuries in the void, I’m  _ finally _ free, and I still have to deal with you and your damn soft-heartedness!”

“I wouldn’t have to meddle if you would stop playing with things you don’t understand,” Riaz said with a sigh. “Shadow games are nothing to use lightly, Atsu.”

Atsu shook his head, tightly clenching the hand bearing his band into a fist. “The same  _ weak  _ logic as always… You can’t learn how to harness the power of something unless you  _ use _ it. Besides, if I’m going to be confined to a piece of paltry jewelry for all my eternity, I am  _ damn well _ going to take full advantage of the power it has to offer!”

“You’re going to get yourself in a lot of trouble if this nonsense doesn’t stop, Atsu,” Riaz said back, gesturing widely with the mirror.

"You're not going to stop me, Riaz," Atsu warned. "Not this time. That, I  _ promise _ ."

Riaz frowned. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you hurt anyone.”

"Even those who deserve punishment?" Atsu questioned. He didn't pause to hear Riaz's answer. "You're so naive. You'll see soon enough that there are more than enough people in this world who deserve punishment. And I hope to be there when it happens."

“I’m not denying some deserve punishment,” Riaz replied through a sigh. “But I know you. You punish even those that need to see mercy.”

The fury on Atsu's expression only grew worse at Riaz's words. "Your  _ mercy _ is exactly what imprisoned us in the first place! I will never show mercy - and I'll  _ never _ forgive you, Riaz!"

The band on Atsu's finger glowed, and the last of the shadows dissipated. A whirlwind kicked up around them, and then Atsu shoved Dakarai's consciousness back into his body. It was so sudden, it took him a few moments of dizziness to realize what had happened.

Riaz sighed, before shaking his head quickly and looking toward Dakarai. “Are you alright?”

Dakarai's gaze shot up to Riaz, and he coughed nervously. "Um… yeah," he replied. "I'm fine… from that conversation, I'm assuming you're not Kurt?"

Riaz shook his head. “My name is Riaz. And you are?”

"I'm Dakarai. I go to school with Kurt," he replied. "Listen, um… I don't want to be rude, but… can I talk to Kurt? I want to apologize for what just happened."

“Of course,” Riaz replied, nodding. With that, the mirror in his hand gave off a golden glow, and Kurt’s consciousness was placed in the forefront again.

Kurt looked around, before looking at Dakarai with a confused, worried look.

Dakarai sighed, partly in relief and partly in resignation. "I'm really, incredibly sorry Kurt. For all that. I can explain everything, but I probably shouldn't do it in the middle of the street."

Kurt looked down at the mirror, and then looked around for his bag. He found it lying on the ground a few yards off, open with most of its contents spilled out from it. He gathered everything up and stuffed it in his backpack, before placing the mirror in as well.

“We can go to your place or back to mine,” he suggested, walking back over to Dakarai and putting the strap of his bag on his shoulder.

"Let's go back to yours," Dakarai agreed. "I'll walk myself back home later." Kurt nodded, before starting to lead them back to the dorms on campus. They weren't very far from it, and once they were heading into Kurt's dorm room, Dakarai said, "You might want to keep the mirror on hand for now. It'll probably keep you safe."

Kurt glanced up at Dakarai, before nodding and pulling the mirror out of his bag. Only then did Dakarai close the door of Kurt’s room.

"So," Dakarai began, his gaze averted from Kurt's as he pieced his words together. "I guess I should start off by explaining that everything you experienced was real and actually happened."

Kurt’s eyes widened. He held the mirror close to his chest, keeping his gaze off of Dakarai. “But you…”

"I want you to know, that was as much me as that last part was you. That is to say, I didn't do any of that." He held up his left hand, showing the gold band wrapped tightly around his index finger. "It was this — well, him."

Kurt looked down at the mirror in his hands, and then back up at Dakarai. “...Who are they?”

Dakarai rubbed the back of his neck absently. "Atsu - that's his name, by the way - hasn't told me a lot. Just that he was trapped in the ring as a spirit hundreds of years ago."

_ ‘It’s called the Millenium  _ band _ ,’  _ Riaz’s voice chimed in, clear in Kurt’s head. Kurt fumbled with the mirror, nearly dropping it.

"Yeah, it's a lot to take in," Dakarai noted sympathetically. "Let me guess… the spirit in the mirror spoke to you?" Kurt nodded, looking up at Dakarai. "Look Kurt… I have a deal with the spirit in my ring, but you don't have to do anything like that. You still have a chance to keep having a normal life."

Kurt looked down at the mirror again. “But… Didn’t the person in the mirror say the… other one is hurting people?” He looked back up at Dakarai. “Who else can use the mirror?”

The band squeezed Dakarai's finger, making him wince. "Um… I don't know. I'm sure Atsu won't tell me, but to be honest, it probably shouldn't be me."

_ ‘Nobody else can use the mirror,’ _ Riaz’s voice said.  _ ‘Not in the way you can.’ _

Kurt frowned. “...I think I need to keep it.”

"Are you sure?" Dakarai asked. "I'm sure the mirror can protect you, but… I've noticed that, since I've started wearing the ring, I've been attracting trouble. The same could happen to you…"

Kurt held the mirror’s handle tightly in his hands. “...I’ll keep it.”

Dakarai didn't look reassured by Kurt's decision, but didn't voice it. "Well… alright. If you're really keeping it, then, you should keep in mind Atsu will want to get it away from you. I'm not entirely sure what is going on between the spirits of the items, but it's obvious that he has a grudge."

Kurt nodded, looking down. “Right.”

"He can't take me over at school or in public without my permission, so you don't have to tote the mirror all the time. I imagine that would be difficult - it's not as discreet as mine is."

Kurt nodded. “...Okay.”

"...Is there anything else you want to know?" Dakarai asked. "I've never had to explain this… and I don't know everything, but I don't want to leave you in the dark."

Kurt pulled his sleeves down over his hands. “Do you…  _ have _ to let the person in your, uh, band… hurt people?”

Dakarai hesitated. "That's complicated… he's allowed to take over to get me out of trouble. I just happen to get into a lot of it."

“Why do you have to keep it? Can’t you just lock it up?” Kurt asked, sounding worried.

"Keeping it on is part of the deal I agreed to," Dakarai said. "And… well, the ring has the ability to magically bind any deals I make, it seems."

Kurt sighed. “...Of course it does.”

"I didn't know a lot going into this," Dakarai admitted. "That's why I'm trying to tell you as much as I can. I don't know what the mirror does, but it could be similar."

Kurt gripped the mirror tightly. “I don’t think so…”

"Just… be careful, okay?"

Kurt nodded. “...You too.”

"Yeah, I'll try to stay out of trouble," Dakarai reassured. "Well… unless there's anything else, I'll give you some space to think about things. I do think you should reconsider, but… text me if anything happens, alright?"

Kurt gave a small smile. “I’ll be okay, but I promise I’ll text you if I need you.”

With a small nod, Dakarai said, "Alright, Kurt… Sorry, again, for everything." He opened Kurt's door again. "...Goodnight."

“Goodnight…”

Dakarai left the dorm room, leaving Kurt alone. Kurt looked down at the mirror, letting out a sigh. He was quiet for a long moment, before speaking quietly. “Um… Are you there?”

_ ‘I am,’ _ Riaz replied.

“I made the right decision, right?”

Riaz let out a light chuckle.  _ ‘Don’t worry, I’ll make sure nobody gets hurt. Especially not you or your friend.’ _

Kurt let out a relieved sigh. “And… What happened to that man back there? Where did he go?”

_ ‘The mirror shows you where your heart truly lies. If your heart is just, the mirror sends you to a safe place that you know.’ _

“Oh… I see.” Kurt turned the mirror over in his hands, watching the light shine off of its surface. “So… he was a good man after all?”

_ ‘That’s what the mirror decided, yes. If he weren’t, he would have stayed there and have had to face the penalty game.’ _

Kurt let out a slow breath. “...Oh.”


End file.
